GOLSIE TALKS KEEPING TRACK OF THE WIND - APOLLONIA SESSIONS

Behind the Coastline

You are reading an independently published interview-series published and carefully curated by Swedish pop-culture journalist Daniel John. Ever since its start in 2015, the core curiosity remains the same, surfing the creative currents of music, film, fashion and everything else on the pop-radar, catching the waves of

Culture Coast TalksDaniel John

When did you first catch the wave to become a singer-songwriter and producer, were you hooked on making music from early on?

I caught the wave of becoming a singer songwriter almost a decade ago, around early 2015. While I was finishing my Computer Science bachelor’s degree third year and as I was going through a rough breakup plus had some friends in the music industry, I started to feel the urge to let my thoughts a new outlet by writing and composing new songs. Getting into producing was pretty natural as I had prior knowledge of editing videos and got to play a little with music DAW softwares, I started producing my own songs and got better and better everyday. Of course most of the early songs and productions were abandoned. I was into music from early on. Since I was around eight years old I learned the piano and later on got hooked into guitar as well. These two are my main instruments although as I grew up I played the drums and fooled around with synthesis as I mastered my production process.

What was it you found in music that you perhaps hadn’t found anywhere else in, until then. Can it be a way of keeping track of the wind that is your life, even, if not especially, when it’s stormy?

Well, I think the deepest virtue I found in music is the fact that it’s the main outlet to my deepest thoughts, those I can’t face without any help. And one of the main things I find during this journey is that it plays a tool of letting me face my fears and doubts. As my debut album title is, my music is definitely a mean of keeping track of it, my life and experiences. And I find that the stormy times sometimes unfold interesting insights but as I grow with my music and life I see that it’s the warm and cozy times that hold the real beauty.

What was it that originally inspired you to write this first album. What is it that holds these eleven songs together?

My debut album is some sort of “mixtape” of a very long period in which I grew and evolved a lot. Many more songs were written but at last I chose to assemble eleven songs and put them together into an album. As a consequence, it could seem somewhat eclectic and contain many genres. But the truth is that for me it’s a clear and obvious timeline story with some songs that are main milestones like 'Are You Ready to Wake Up', 'Millennials Circle', 'Moments Consequences' and 'Octopus Color'. Starting from a dreamy-like journey to wake up and follow your self truth, and to the inner fire and critique one has towards his society and surroundings, and into a realization that every moment counts on building who you are and into the warmth of love which holds it all together.

I would think there had to be a lot of build-up, expectations, around releasing a body of work like it, not least after having worked on it for quite some time. Did it live up to how you had thought it would feel like sharing it with the world?

Lovely question! I think living up to your own expectations is one of the greatest life lessons I learnt throughout the process. The moment of understanding that the world is there and you are just a tiny tiny piece in it. Life is bigger than you and I. And realizing that in order to get things moving I have to push things forward. Now don’t get me wrong, I knew I had to push myself into doing more and more. But it just brought up the marketing side of things which I didn’t know much and didn’t want to know honestly. But as an independent artist that’s a must today and I had to learn that on my own.

Now over a year since the album first came out, the songs are catching a second wave with these great live-sessions. What got you started with the Apollonia Sessions version of the album?

I think the second wave is just an extension of the first one which started as a tiny ripple in a small pond. At first I just wanted to get it out, get it over with, face the initial fear of letting go. I also had some huge things going on with my life which caught my attention such as getting married and having my first newborn daughter but truth is that I needed some time before I was ready to push things forward. And that’s exactly what I did. Apollonia sessions were one of the promoting ideas and also, I thought it would be a nice and easy way to showcase my music to a wider audience. When I decided to get that idea moving, this beautiful location was just a piece to put in the puzzle. I had to think harder and go back to my childhood. This spot was right in front of one of the beaches I used to go surfing, and had so many good memories of growing up.

It was always a multifaceted album musically, with elements from lots of different genres. Have you kept on exploring new things since we last heard from you?

I keep on changing and exploring in my own journey so the music I make has the same effect. Sometimes I get my inspiration from a new instrument or effect, other times it comes from a new skill or point of interest and usually the vibe and idea are based on what’s going with my life and my surroundings. Also, I consume music on a daily basis. And I feel as if I have some cycle of “musical vibes” I’m into in each period, it could vary every couple of weeks and even months. Some periods have this quality of exploring and finding new musical inspirations. These days I would say my music is somewhere in the mixture of rock with RnB and funk and more indie influences although my new album I'm working on now still got some solid rock songs. I think the change came from my experiences with live audiences from shows around my first album release and these I do frequently in local bars around me. Feeling the crowd made me want to interact more and have more of a two-way conversation, either by responses or just by seeing people actually feel my live music and groove.

You mention a second album, when can we expect to hear it?

I really hope I’ll live up to my expectations and get my second album ready in the first half of next year. The songs are already written and mostly composed but not all yet produced. Some already revealed in shows and even in Apollonia sessions, 'Pura Living' is one example. Another interesting fact is that in the second album I decided to collaborate more, with other artists and mainly other producers from whom I improve and challenge my way of producing and composing music. Always learning, always exploring. Always staying accurate to my thoughts and feelings.